Defection
by Emma Raye
Summary: Being faced with an old teammate after falling into the hands of Akatsuki was not what Sutero Hana planned after her defection from Konoha. [AU and OC]
1. Arrival

A lot of the elements in this story relate directly to my other story, Insolent. However, this is not in the same universe. It simply uses the same OC, Sutero Hana, and hence much of bloodline limit and clan issues are present. The biggest difference is she is a bit younger in this story, by about three years, and in this story the massacre _has_ occurred. Anywho, please enjoy. Writing this was incredibly enjoyable and I experimented with a more in depth writing style.

* * *

A lot of things in life are surprising. The fact that Sutero Hana defected was not one of them. Hell, she had been placed on ANBU for the sole purpose of keeping her close to the Hokage and maybe showing her the reason this village doesn't _suck_ , as she would so eloquently put it. Her talent, only denied by herself and occasionally her father, of course landed her there as well. However, when an animal summon showed up in Tsunade's office and announced Sutero Hana had defected, she wished her could say she was surprised. However, the insolent woman had been a thorn in her side for years. At the mere thought of having to do anything to benefit anyone but herself, Hana would groan, loudly and dramatically. It was like dealing with a toddler.

Hana, however, did find the fact that she defected a wee bit surprising. The woman had never been particularly introspective. Well, that was lie. She spent much of her time suspecting about the world and pensively ignoring what others had to say. Which is why, when she was suddenly storming out of the village and cursing its very existence and vowing never to return, she was surprised. This had never been part of her thoughts prior to the moment her father insisted she wed someone for the sake of the clan. _Fuck this, fuck the clan and fuck the village_ , had been her next thoughts as she stormed out.

Alas, leaving the village was not as simple as she preferred it to be. She didn't want to become a rogue-nin. She wanted to live in peace and do positively nothing for next to forever. The ANBU team pursuing her, however, did not understand that notion. She frowned to herself, knowing damn well just how much of a fight ANBU put up, and with her security clearance, Tsunade certainly hadn't sent newbies after her. Hana sighed and decided to fight. This was going to be certainly awful.

Much to her dismay, Hana was right. The fight was certainly awful. The two ANBU were now unconscious and she was losing blood fast. Her lovely bloodline limit allowed her clotting factors to be deplorable which was a simply delightful trait at the moment. She groaned and leaned against a tree holding pressure to her wound. She could feel her vision fading she cursed her idiocy and popped a soldier pill. Her chakra control was good and typically she detested the idea of learning new skills, but she really wished she had decided to take the medic-nin 101 course regularly offered to ANBU. Of course, she had decided to go lay in a field instead and the one time she did attend she spaced out so aggressively she could only remember the fact chakra control was essential for the act.

Even with the soldier pill replaced her blood loss she could feel the world fading around her. Dying here wouldn't be so bad, she supposed. At least it was relatively painless. As her eyes blinked back open she cursed the fact it had rained. It was completely dark outside at this point. So she she'd been unconscious for about three to five hours. She lifted up the bandage on her wound to inspect it. It had stopped bleeding a while ago, thankfully. It had even formed a nice little film on top of it. So definitely had been out for five hours. She groaned and stood, cursing her wet clothes which were now partially muddy.

Standing was quite the task; the effects of her previous blood loss were apparent. She groaned as she limped through the forest. She had to at least make it further from the village, so she wasn't so damn easy to track. She heard the slightest rustling several meters behind her. It wasn't concurrent with the way the wind was flowing. _ANBU_ , she swore, summoning chakra to her feet as she broke into a run. She peered behind her for a moment, feeling like a hunted deer only to turn and be faced with two figures. _Not ANBU,_ she mentally noted only to curse the godforsaken world she was born into because the people in front of her were Akatsuki.

"What business do you have with me?" She snarled, her voice hoarse since she hadn't spoken a word in nearly sixteen hours now.

The blue one, she recognized from the bingo book as Kisame, towered over her and grinned at her. "Information, kid. We know you've got a lot of it." Hana frowned, he certainly wasn't wrong. Not only was she ANBU, but she was an heir to the Sutero clan. She certainly knew much more than the average shinobi. She went to reach into her kunai pouch only to have a cold hand take her wrist and pound it against she back.

The same cold hand forced her to the ground with a foot on her back. She peeked back and was met with a blazing sharingan. "Uchiha…Itachi…" she muttered before a smirk crossed her lips. "Long time no see."

The slightest of frowns touched the man's lips as he gripped her wrist harder. "A long time indeed." Before she could form one more witty remark, the world was black.

* * *

Hana awoke and this time it was definitely light out, despite the dim room she found herself in. She went to check her wounds and now thoroughly dislocated shoulder, but her hands were bound behind her back and funneling her non-existant chakra was clearly not an option right now _. Delightful_. She peered around the room she was in. It wasn't a cell per se but it the straw mat she was on certainly did not accent the window with no opening and the barren chair in front of her. For a brief moment, Hana mused that room could use drapes. She mentally kicked herself. _This is bad, Hana_ , the rational part of her mind told her. _Stop thinking about draperies and start thinking of a way out_ , the same logical voice hissed.

Thinking of a way out flew off the table as the door swung open and Uchiha Itachi didn't just walk in he strode in like he did everywhere. Hana scowled, she hated that piece of crap. He had put her and her team through the wringer after he decided to murder his clan. Cleaning up the bodies of the men, women and children of the Uchiha clan wouldn't be one she'd soon forget or forgive about. He towered over her and she didn't have to change her general expression much to give him her best 'fuck off' face.

Seemingly amused with her expression, Itachi raised a brow. "Why did you desert the village?" Hana stared blankly at him. After a moment of silence, Itachi snatched her chin, making her face him. "Don't make this more difficult than it has to be."

Clearly having a death wish, Hana rolled her eyes at him and sighed, trying her best to sound exasperated. "My shoulder is dislocated and continuously being tugged on. I'm pretty sure this wound is getting infected and I have so little chakra I could faint any moment. I've had training in torture, and here's the thing, frankly I don't give a shit what you do. Torture me, kill me, I'm not telling you _anything_."

His lips actually dipped into a genuine frown as his eyes began to spin. "As you wish."

 _Hana's world faded into a black and red one. She was tied to a stake and the devil himself, Uchiha Itachi stood in front of her, with a few hand symbols he lit the logs beneath her. As the fire licked her legs and made the way up she body she nearly bit her lip off trying not to scream. "You will burn for the next twelve hours," the ominous voice echoed._

As she finally snapped back to the dimly lit room her eyes fluttered shut and into unconsciousness. Damn that bastard.

Finally, she awoke and this time the room she dark. She groaned, her body felt like it was still on fire, her head was throbbing. Her shoulder was basically numbed at this point, as was her entire right arm. She was alone with her thoughts for a few moments until she heard a small ruckus outside the doorway. "It's my turn to interrogate, hm!" An exuberantly brash voice voice yelled.

"But, I'm way fucking better at it!" A deeper, equally crazy voice insisted, excitedly. There was a small thud and a tall, shirtless man walked with in a tall scythe-like weapon. Hana tried to hide her excitement, she knew actually who this way and exactly what he was going to do. Thank god, she had done some light bingo-book reading about a month ago. The man maniacally began ranting about a sacrifice to his god as he reopened the wound which was already healing to gain some blood. As the man drew a circle in blood he licked hers in his excitement to torture her.

Behind her back Hana twisted her left hand the smallest amount and made the simplest hand symbol she knew for this technique. The chakra wouldn't be strong enough to burst his veins, but it certainly would be enough to startled him with some paralysis. As he went to stab his stomach she smirked as his arms forsake him. He looked her with narrow eyes. "Bitch! What did you do?"

"Oh…did your god forsake you?" Hana smirked, knowing he knew nothing of her bloodline limit. The man rushed into obscenities and as Hana felt the technique receding he practically ran out of the room.

A blonde, maybe a man, maybe a woman, but probably a man walked in. He knelt down in front of her. "Good work there, plum-"

Hana almost laughed at the obscurity of the statement. "Plum?"

The almost bashful man rubbed the back of his head. "Well, your hair, hm. You can call me honey," he tried, holding a fistful of his locks and winking. Hana's scowl indicated otherwise. "Oooor not, hm." He rubbed his chin for a moment. "Ya see, I'm not all to good at this interrogation thing, it not very artful, hm. So, if I heal you up and unbind you. Maybe even feed ya some food, do you think you could tell me why you defected, hm?"

Hana nodded, slowly and went to immediately decline, but as she realized the state of her situation, she figured if she gave half-truths she could maybe escape alive. "Fine," she muttered. The blonde smiled back at her, nodding. "….My father wanted to arrange my marriage. I declined, apparently it wasn't a proposition. It was an order. So, I left."

The blonde began to undo her bindings and nodded. "Interesting. And you were ANBU," he noted looking at her grey flak jacket and tattoo on her right arm. Hana shrugged, but closed her eyes in sweet relief and she felt blood flow return to her hands. "I'm Deidara, hm. The blue fellow is Kisame. The man who terrorized was Hidan, and well it seems like you already know Itachi, hm." By the time he finished talking she was filled with his ointment and bandages. She wasn't healed, but she certainly was on her way to it. She stood up and felt the way her body swayed and Deidara caught her.

"Ah, not eating for a while and blood loss will do that." She brushed her hair out of her face, allowing herself a small chuckle. As far as Akatsuki went, this one wasn't awful. She allowed Deidara to help her to the kitchen and sat happily at the table, taking an apple without asking. Deidara couldn't help but be amused at her boldness, most prisoners didn't do anything close to sitting at their table without permission, let alone take a piece of food without asking.

This wasn't the average prisoner after all, Deidara supposed. This was Sutero Hana, heir to the Sutero clan, prodigy of her class, second only to Hatake Kakashi in her generation. And when Itachi had briefed them on her, he had made it clear being second to Kakashi was likely a choice on this interesting kunoichi's part. She was also a master of her bloodline limit, which revolved around blood jutsu (a message which Hidan had clearly been ignoring) and had earned herself the name of Blood Ghost among villages and countries. And the Akatsuki had been trying to their timing of her capture. Her defection had made perfect timing.

Deidra's trains of thought were interrupted by her chucking of an apple into a trash can a few feet from Deidara. "Nice shot," a new quite blue addition to the room noted.

Hana had taken upon herself to lean back in the chair, arms crossed and eyes closed, seemingly unfazed by the new person in the room. She waved him off gently. "Apple, shuriken, darts, same difference." After a moment of silence, she sighed, opening her eyes. She was generally an apathetic person, but with the current level of pain she was suppressing and the lack of chakra, she honestly just didn't care about anything right now. She finally found the will to stand and walked back down the way she had walked with Deidara. The two men in the kitchen simply watched her make her way into the room and close the door.

Deidara and Kisame glanced between each other. "The Uchiha was right, she's certainly an interesting one."

Deidara shrugged. "Certainly is, hm. How's Hidan?"

The grin Kisame met Deidara with was pointed both literally and figuratively. "Pissed, but at least we have the antidote."

Hana had sat herself down in her prison of a room and leaned herself against the wall. Her entire body was on fire. Whether it was lingering effect from Itachi's jutsu or from the beatings she had endured for the past day or so, she didn't know. However, it sucked. And this was certainly not how she planned to begin her life of freedom. She racked her brain for what she knew about the Akatsuki and their hideout in a plan to get out. She racked and racked and racked. Nothing. The last time Hana's strategy had left her with nothing, her entire genin had died and she barely made it out alive. She grimaced at the memory, really hoping this would turn out better.

She banged her head back against the wall in frustration and instantly regretted it as she felt her migraine worsen. She bit her lip and felt herself want to stamp her feet. There was really no way out of this situation right now. She wasn't bound, but had little to no chakra. It seemed as though several of the Akatsuki were home and they certainly weren't about to let her walk out. Even if she did walk out, it would be about as well planned as her defection and that had clearly gone _so_ well.

Tears started to well up in her eyes and she cursed the emotional habit she had never been able to break. She cried when she was frustrated and as much as she hated to admit how intelligent she was, it wasn't often. She was almost always able to come up with a plan without becoming frustrated. Let alone frustrated to this point. Since there was little practice in suppressing the emotion, it flowed freely.

As if he could sense her weakness, the door opened and Uchiha Itachi floated into the room. She turned her head away from him, brushing her fists against her cheeks in order to wipe them. "Old habits die hard," Itachi seemed to muse. She cursed his excellent perception skills, the man knew exactly what was going through her head right now. They had been teammates, they had spent more time together than with their own families.

"Fuck off, Uchiha." Hana swore she saw a glimmer of hurt flicker across the man's eyes, but she knew that had to exhaustion causing her to hallucinate. If anyone was hurt here, it was her.

"Uchiha now, is it, _Hana_?" His curt and emotionless tone lingered on her first name and her scowl deepened and she felt anger rising in her. She really didn't have the emotional capacity to suppress it right now either.

"Forgive me for being unfriendly, Uchiha," the sarcasm was nearly visibly dripping off her lips. "However, after you abandoned our team and I, and ran off to murder your entire clan, I realized we may no longer be _friends_." The Uchiha heir continued to look at her blinking slowly, seeming to take some small amount of interest in what she had to say. Hana scowled, she knew that look. She hated that look even when they were teammates. He never acknowledged someone talking, he just stared until they continued. It was an infuriating habit.

And Hana played into it _every damn time_. "You know what? I cared about you, Itachi. You were… god...Kakashi and I were so fucked up after you did that. How dare you? Who did you think you were? Why…" She hated how her voice broke. Seeing him after so many years did that to her she supposed. "Why would you do that?"

Itachi wasn't facing her any longer, he was turned to exit the room and as his fingers turned the knob and he left his voice left her with a single parting word. "Loyalty."

Hana wasn't sure when she fell asleep, but she had and she was awoken by her door opening. Honestly, she wasn't too upset to see Deidara walk in. The man was relatively pleasant and even a little funny. Hana could appreciate that. The honey haired man seemed solemn as she walked in and sat on a chair in the corner. "Plum, are you awake, hm?"

Hana sat herself up and crossed her arms across her chest and leaned into them as she tugged her knees to her chest. She felt like a sulking child, but in comparison to the terrors in front of her she was. Her chakra strength still hadn't returned and while she wasn't in as much pain as yesterday, she body was still unbearably sore. She decided a gentle grunt of acknowledgement was enough for Deidara.

He faced her leaned against the back of the chair. "I was pretty successful yesterday in getting information, hm." He sighed. "So I'm back today. I don't think it'll be as easy as it was yesterday, hm."

Hana couldn't help but smile softly and raise a defiant brow. "I would have to agree."

Deidara frowned and muttered something about the lack of artistry in interrogation. Hana furrowed her brow as his frown deepened. "Lack of cooperation would be unfortunate for some of those at home, hm."

"I have no one," Hana snapped. A little too fast, she quickly realized. She could have slapped herself. She was better than this, but the damage already had been done.

"Your sister sleeps in the room across the hall from you, hm. It'd be a shame if anything happened while she slept. Hatake Kakashi is capable, but I'm sure he's not expecting an ambush from Akatsuki on his solo mission, hm."

Her lips pressed into a thin line. He had found her soft spots. The information she knew certainly wouldn't destroy the village, but it would definitely help the Akatsuki. But she couldn't let Kakashi and Harumi die… she couldn't. She had already left them behind she couldn't betray them again. She gritted her teeth. "What do you want to know?"

"You're going to make me the best Akatsuki interrogator ever, hm." As they spoke, Hana gave several half-truths, but Deidara knew. He would take what he could at the moment, he didn't enjoy torture. It wasn't beautiful or artistic. As far as he was concerned, this was going to have to do. Finally, he had gotten his fill and held out a hand to her. "Let's go to your room, hm."

As she gripped the hand of the Akatsuki, she was genuinely confused. She wanted to hate him. He was an Akatsuki member. He had threatened her best friend and little sister's lives, but alas she couldn't find it in her. How many lives had she threatened? Hell, how many times had she been ordered to kill innocent people just to spite hardened criminals on missions. As she followed Deidara down the hall, she actually found herself enjoying his company. The man was exuberant and pleasant, at the very least. Maybe he was evil, but maybe she was too. So, could she really hate someone for that?

Her thoughts abruptly stopped as he opened the door to her room. "It's a real bedroom," she noted, some-what dumbly.

Deidara spared her a small chuckle. "Yeah, hm." She glanced around and could appreciate the space. The room was mostly grey and black, but the purple ornate rug and throw on her bed made her appreciate the space. There was a bookshelf, which was full, nonetheless. There was even a desk. She turned to Deidara with an appreciative gaze and nodded thankfully entering the room. She didn't bother to care his gaze lingered on her for a moment as she thumbed through the bookshelf.

The door shut behind her, eventually and Hana had to admit the entire situation was odd. She picked up a book with tragic poems and found her way to her bed. The cushion felt delightful compared to the stone wall and floors. She lost herself in thought and poems for the next few hours. The fact they had given her an untouched room was interesting. It was equally interesting she wasn't dead or placed under any restraints right now. She could easily be over-powered right now, but in time, she wouldn't be. Would they restrain her then?

Her thoughts were eventually interrupted by her stomach grumbling. She supposed eating only an apple for two days was a poor choice. She opened the door and peaked out. There hadn't be any rules against wandering, she supposed. She paced into the kitchen, weary on her surroundings. She hadn't run into any of the men yet. She opened up the fridge to find groceries and for some reason it made her want to laugh. The thought of one of them having to grocery shop made her chuckle. She found a frozen meal and stuck it in the oven. When she stood up from the cooking was nearly chest to chest with Itachi. "Yes?" She asked, unamused.

His face was as stoic as ever. "So you gave up the information?"

Hana pushed herself past him and leaned against the countertop further away from him. "Well when someone asks nicely and I don't hate them, I'm a hair more polite."

The smirk that appeared on his face made her want to punch him. "You're never polite, Hana. We both know that." Hana scowled, and continued to stare at him, taking a page from his own book. Frankly, she hoped he didn't keep talking, but she felt like she could sufficiently irritate him this way. He took the bait and continued speaking.

"You also not too angry considering we're trying to recruit you." Hana did everything in her power to hide the surprised look that swept through her facial muscles, but controlling her facial expressions was never a strong point of hers either. "Ah, you didn't know. Go back to your room. I'll bring your food." Hana opened her mouth to protest, but ice-cold fingers grasped around her arm before she could find the words. "I wasn't asking."

She narrowed her eyes at him and stalked off, not wishing to repeat the genjutsu he had put her in previously. Her body was still sore from that. She found herself sitting at the desk and penning her thoughts. Something about Itachi was _off_. Particularly the comment he had made when she asked him why he did it. She sighed as she doodled around the blank pages in the journal. The word 'loyalty' was circled in the middle of the page and 'to what?' was branched off of it in a square. The rest of the page was slowly being filled with swirls as she thought. The village? His clan? The Akatsuki? Himself? His former team? All of those seemed…incorrect on some level. She scowled and it only deepened as she heard the door open.

Itachi walked in with not one plate, but two. Apparently, he had taken it upon himself to construct her a salad as well. She noted the lack of onions in her salad versus his. He remembered her dislikes and cared enough to heed them, interesting. Picking at her food, she noticed him leaning against the wall, eating. He seemed so familiar without the Akatsuki cloak. She also noticed for the first time, he still wore than necklace she had bought him for his year long time in ANBU. "You still wear the necklace," Hana stated pointedly. Another thing to add to her scribbles.

Itachi nodded. "It's a fine piece of jewelry." Hana made a grunt in acknowledgment. They ate in silence for moment.

"So, the Akatsuki want me." It had occurred to Hana they may want her, especially with having a room made with some of her favorite things. She had noticed the closet held a cloak with red clouds which seemed like it would fit her rather well. Considering her frame was much smaller than anyone here, it seemed easy enough to deduce.

Itachi barely looked up at her. "Clearly," he deadpanned.

Hana sighed in irritation. For such a perceptive man, she had to ask such specific questions to get a damn straight answer out of him. "Why, Itachi?"

"It's Itachi now, is it?"

Hana could have punched him, but years of working with the infuriating creature in front of her allowed herself to take a deep breath before continuing. "Call me sentimental. Without the cloak, I almost remember who you were. Now, why, _Uchiha_?"

Itachi put down his plate on her dresser next to him and crossed his arms. "It should obvious. You're easily an A-Ranked shinobi, if not a S-Rank at this point. And now, with your recent defection, the Akatsuki is usually the next step for most S-Rank defectors. Your skills are also unique, similar to the rest of us."

Hana turned back to her journal, sensing Itachi was not going anywhere anytime soon. She began to doodle again, this time on a different page. Thinking of the art she began to mindlessly talk. "Deidara has taken to calling me Plum. I find it rather odd."

A noise of amusement crept out of Itachi and Hana smirked, but didn't turned around in her chair. "Your hair is the same shade of a plum."

Hana scoffed a little, twisting her braid in her fingers. "I like to think it's closer to a true purple, plum tends to be a little dark or red."

"Hn." The noise made her heart warm and she hated it. She hated that she was having idle conversation with Uchiha Itachi. He was a traitor. _So are you,_ a part of her nagged, _Imagine how Kakashi feels._ She felt Itachi make his way out of her room. "Good night."

As she heard the door close, she let herself bang her head into the desk. She a lot of thinking to do. Soon, Hana found herself doing something she had only done four other times in her life, meditating. She only did it when life brought her impossible situations like these where she knew there was an answer, but she was too scatterbrained to think of it.

* * *

Sleep had found her eventually, but the sun peeking through her window had woken her up at dawn. She sat up and stretched. The pain in her shoulder had swindled quite a bit. She could even feel her chakra now, it was probably only about halfway, but it was something. She glanced around the still unfamiliar room and began to braid her hair. She supposed the only way to keep up her reserves were to keep eating.

Unlike last night, the hide-out seemed to alive this morning. She walked down the hallway and could hear a few billowing voices. One she recognized as Hidan, the man who was certainly pissed off at her. Kisame and Deidara were also there from the sound of it. She entered the room, attempting to not draw attention to herself, but of course Hidan noticed. "Bitch, you can still walk!" He glared at Deidara. "How the fuck did you make her talk and she can still walk!"

Deidara smirked at him. "With my charm."

Hana could barely stifle a chuckle and as she opened the fridge she looked over her shoulder. "Well, Hidan was it? If you aren't trying to _kill me_ , I prove to be more cooperative. I also didn't try to _kill you_." As she turned back to examine the fridge's contents she heard the clamor of a chair and unfamiliar voice tell the spitfire of a man to go cool down elsewhere and prepare for his mission. She smirked to herself, so now she was more of a guest than anything. She picked up a yogurt and an orange before closing the fridge.

Finally examining the table she was a little surprised. They were all so…average. Deidara was eating cereal and molding something in his palms. A young looking red haired man sat, writing earnestly, eating nothing. Kisame was working on a crossword puzzle while drinking a cup of coffee and Itachi was peacefully munching on a pastry as his head a black bound book. Hana took a seat in between Deidara and Kisame. "Morning, Plum. You like yogurt, hm."

Kisame let out a small chuckle. "Plum, eh? I think I'll start using that too."

Hana's eyes narrowed at her cup of yogurt, she really didn't like nicknames. Deidara seemed to be a lost cause in that department, but maybe she could save herself from Kisame. "Only if I can call you Big Blue?" She swore she caught Itachi almost choke and the red haired glanced up with a slightly surprised gaze. Apparently, newcomers weren't usually so bold.

Their gazes all softened as Kisame let out a hearty laugh. "Hana it is then. Or do you prefer Blood Ghost?" Hana frowned at him, shooting him a look from hell. "Guess not," he shrugged.

Last night Hana's meditation hadn't found distinct answers per se, but she had decided to play out this Akatsuki thing. It certainly offered her better protection from death than anything else. If she left here either they would kill her or the ANBU would. Neither were favorable options. She peeled her orange and sat in the chair peacefully, feeling more content than she had in the past week. "Where are your training grounds?" She asked to the table and four sets of eyes peered at her.

"I will take you after breakfast," Itachi nodded. Hana frowned, not having wanted to spend it with him. She supposed they didn't trust her outside alone, however. She sighed and continued to pick at her orange and yogurt.

Itachi lead her outside and as they walked into the sun Hana almost forgot who she was with and where she was. The sun was shining and holy crap she hadn't felt this kind of warmth on her skin in almost a week now. She resisted the urge to spin in excitement as she tilted her chin toward the sky and held in the warmth. Finally snapping back to reality, she turned she glanced around the training grounds. Targets aplenty of every shape and size and several bags and posts for hitting. Perfect.

The next hour, Hana found her center. Despite the lack of chakra and pain in her body, Hana went through her most basic training routine. Itachi watched on, leaning against the building. It was routine he was familiar with, he had done it with her many times. It appeared simple but the combination of taijutsu, ninjutsu and conditioning moves made it a well-rounded work-out. Hana eventually laid down in the middle of the training field and let the warmth of the sun penetrate her skin. It was perfect outside. The air was just warm enough to make her skin tingle, but not warm enough to make it burn. And the breeze cooled her body.

For a moment, nothing else existed. Just the perfect day was here. There was no Konoha, no Akatsuki, no clan, no nothing. Just a beautiful day to be enjoyed. Hana found herself smiling so aggressively she burst into laughter. She sat up and put her elbows on her knees unable to contain her laughter. Her stomach began to hurt and tears began to flow. After a few long moments, she used her knuckles to wipe the tears that had formed in her eyes. She looked to her right and Itachi was staring at her with the most incredulous look she'd seen him have in a while. "Yes?" She snapped.

Itachi raised a brow at her and she swore she saw the edges of his lips twitch up. "You're the one laughing hysterically at nothing, Hana."

Hana shook her head and gazed at the wall of the training grounds, standing up. "My _life_ is a joke. I always have something to laugh about." Going to walk past him, she touched his arm. "Cause if you don't laugh, you'll cry." Hana could feel Itachi turn to look at her as she walked inside and it made her smirk that she could still surprise him.

* * *

The shower Hana took was almost as nice as the outdoors had been. Curious enough, her closet had been fully stocked as well with towels, shampoo and such. She honestly wondered how much information they had gathered on her before she had defected. They had the scent of shampoo she preferred for god sakes. She shrugged off the thought and just appreciated it at this point no matter how creepy it was.

She walked down the hall, covering herself in a towel and slipped into her room. She finger combed her hair as she examined the closet. She eventually settled on purple kimono-style blouse with a black obi and grey pants. It was comfortable looking enough. She stretched her body a little and sighed, her body was going to be more sore tomorrow, but right now she felt amazing despite her pained muscles.

There was soft rapping on her door and she opened it to see Deidara standing there. "Hey there," Hana greeted in her most friendly tone.

"I have to go into town, would you like it join, hm?"

Hana tried to not hide her surprise. They were going to trust her in a town? Interesting. "Sure," was all she could mutter, lest giving away her joy. She was actually extremely excited to see civilization again, but Deidara certainly didn't need to know that.

The walk to the town was nice and Hana had realized they were probably somewhere in Cloud, judging by the terrain at least. Deidara was quite the conversationalist despite his verbal tick and Hana, despite typically only wanting to engage in witty banter, happily obliged. "My favorite time of day is midday. It's the warmest and the sun is shining. Yourself?"

"Dawn or Dusk. Though, generally Dusk has better visuals, hm."

Hana smiled a little and nudged him with her arm. "Very artistic of you." Deidara beamed at her response as he browsed the produce section, trying to skip it entirely. Hana shook her head and tossed a few vegetables and a substantial amount of fruit into her bag. Her blonde companion had made his way to the freezer section, a favorite of the Akatsuki it seemed. She couldn't help but shake her head at the premade dinners he placed in his bag, while she placed real meat and rice in hers.

On the walk back, Deidara let out a small sigh. "I really didn't wanna threaten your sister, hm. Don't hold it against me." Hana looked over the man next to her, honestly a little shocked he was apologizing more than anything. She would have done the same thing if ordered and for this man to apologize, it was uncharacteristic she supposed. She nodded and grunted in response.

"Did you want to join the Akatsuki, Deidara?" Hana wasn't sure where the question came from, but alas it had come out and now she was curious.

The honey-blonde seemed a little surprised, but shrugged. "Stupid Itachi put me in a genjutsu. I just wanted to do my art, hm. Joining isn't really a _choice_." Hana knew the last few words were directed right at her, but she pretended she didn't hear them as the hide-out came into view.

Once inside a new figure was awaiting them, he was hunched and wore a bandana over his mouth. Hana focused a little more and realized it was a puppet. "Deidara, we are to go on a mission. Hurry." Ah, so it was Sasori as the rest of the world saw him.

"I've got the groceries, you can go prepare." She took his bag from him and walked into the kitchen and began putting them away. It was quiet now, unlike how it had been this morning. Rummaging through the kitchen, she was able to explore it a little as she found a place for everything. They kept most fruit refrigerated, save bananas and apples. They ate far too many premade and frozen meals. What real food they did have, was easily to be made into a single meal. Hana wished this behavior was uncommon, but so many shinobi had the poorest eating habits she knew.

She took some chicken and began to chop and season it. It wasn't a culinary masterpiece by any means, but these chicken bites she made were a personal favorite. She was practically humming over the pan as they fried. Hana grimaced a little as she realized having a taste of normalcy, hell a taste of home, was comforting to her right now. She poured a few more ingredients in to make a sauce as the rice finished steaming.

Plating the dish, she frowned at her inner turmoil. Being free of the orders and deception that was her clan and village was enough to make her feel as though a thousand pounds had been lifted off her shoulders. Also, most of the village despised her and treated her with poor regard. _Except…_ Hana slapped away the doubt in her head. There wasn't time for it right now. She was free. Well, free was a loose term. Free of Konoha and the clan. She glanced up as the sink made some noise and a glance to her right allowed Itachi to come into view. Without his cloak again, he seemed just like the man from so many years ago.

He regarded her with a small incline to the head as he leaned against the counter, drinking his water. Catching sight of her dish, he raised a brow. "Chicken bites?"

Hana finished chewing the piece in her mouth and tried not to smile. "My favorite," she said quietly. The Uchiha nodded slowly at her. She leaned back against her chair, suddenly having a loss of appetite. "Did you feel relieved after you left the village?"

"Relieved isn't the word I would use," he deadpanned.

"Then what word would you use?" Hana spat back, sick of everything with him being a struggle.

"Dead." Hana couldn't help the way her eyes widened. It was certainly not the answer she'd been expecting. She knew there was more to add to her doodle at this point. Things weren't adding up.

"Nothing makes sense," Hana muttered, staring intently at her rice and chicken.

"I suppose it wouldn't," Itachi said in a tone which was nearly exasperated as he began to saunter out of the kitchen. He stopped, however, as Hana slammed her fist on the table, causing her dish to clang.

"Then help it make sense." Hana's voice was ready to crack. Itachi turned around just slightly to see the purple haired woman staring down at the table in frustration. The exasperation on his face was evident, but Hana was not focused on his face as much as she was on containing her tears. Frustration, again.

"You're intelligent enough to put it together. You were the true strategist on our team, not me." The words sliced like a knife and Hana immediately reverted to her second favorite coping mechanism, laughing. _Our team_ , she mentally mused. _He had the nerve to talk about it. That rat bastard_.

Discarding her dinner into the trash and dish in the sink, Hana sulked into her room and found herself pondering and aggressively doodling into her journey adding more words and swirls. Alas, nothing came to her, but more confusion. Groaning, she gazed at the ceiling. This entire situation was stupid. However, her thoughts were interrupted by a small puff of smoke and a spider scurrying onto her desk.

She frowned at the summon. It was gross, but had a small scroll attached to it. _Your decision is required within the next 48 hours._ Hana frowned and tossed the scroll into a drawer. She wasn't in this mood for this shit. And by this shit, she was definitely referring to the shitshow that was her life. She took a deep breath and padded over to her bed and crossed her legs. She knew what she needed to do. For the second time this week, an actual record, Hana meditated.

* * *

The idea of being a genius or prodigy was never a concept Hana delved into readily. She spent the entirety of her time at the academy intentionally seeming dumb in order to spite her clan and not graduate early. Her marks were as low as she could get them without actually failing. It was infuriating to nearly every adult around her and even her classmates found her attitude poor. Rising through the ranks of genin to a jonin in ANBU happened within two years, a feat nearly unheard of, was annoying since in the field she couldn't hide her skill any longer. Her incredible mind apparently was not wasted solely on wit and people had finally taken notice.

While, it was usually to her dismay that she had to use her mind outside of battle, there were rare moments where she appreciated her analytical skills. After running through possible situations for nearly six hours, she had come to two conclusions. She would agree to join the Akatsuki. And Itachi was still loyal to Konoha, there must be circumstances in which his clan had to be eliminated. The third conclusion she had to draw was still up in the air, did she speak to Itachi on the matter?

Cracking open her eyes, she looked outside. It was dawn. Luckily, she found meditation nearly as restful as sleep. She rose from the bed and exited the room. She walked down the hallway slowly. Her bedroom was the first in the hallway off the kitchen and from what she gathered, all of the bedrooms were down this hall. Itachi hadn't walked more than twenty paces from the kitchen to get to his room last night. Hence, his room was either the one next to hers, across, or two doors down. She placed her fingers on the one across the hall, trying to sense for anything inside. Nothing. She pressed her fingers against the door right next to her and also got nothing. One more door down, she went to press her fingers, but it swung open. She stared up at flaring red eyes and raised brows. "I figured it out."

Itachi retreated into his room and Hana followed slamming the door shut. "Speak freely, Kisame is out in the town and the others are on missions." His tone was emotionless as ever and Hana couldn't help but sit down on his bed and lean back and look at the ceiling. She noticed this earned her a small look from him but she crossed her arms and focused at a dot on the ceiling.

"You didn't do it because you wanted to or because you had a mental break. Konoha needed you to. Tensions were high between the Uchiha and the village and we had them under surveillance. They were going to commit treason. But there's one piece I can't place, why? The Uchiha rebellion may have succeeded even. I know you're loyal to fault, Itachi. But, there's a piece of I'm missing." Hana's voice matter of fact, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to say it at all. It was like delivering a mission report.

Itachi had found himself comfortable on an armchair and leaned into one of his hands. His face seemed unbothered. He knew she would figure it out once in close contact with him, there was no mistaking it. The Akatsuki recruiting her was a part of his plan he had not planned for. Like any good strategist, he had adjusted accordingly. "Why did you give up information in the beginning? I'm hard pressed to believe it was out of the goodness of your heart."

A bark of laughter erupted from Hana as she shook her head. "Can you just answer a goddamn question, Itachi? Honestly… this is exhausting." The silence in the room answered her question. She shook her head, sighing. "They threatened Harumi, obviously. And Kakashi." She glanced at Itachi for a brief moment before glancing back at the ceiling. "Kakashi and I were important to you, but not kill you clan important, I suppose. Which rat bastard threatened Sasuke?"

"Shimura Danzo," The words nearly hissed from Itachi's mouth. Hana nodded slowly as she processed the information she had just received.

"This sucks." Hana was almost surprised when the words slipped from her mouth, but then was overcome with a chuckle with turned into abrupt laughter. "So, you're probably only a little bitter that I defected willingly over some rash decision when you'd probably give anything to still be a part of the village. God, this is rich. We really are cursed."

Itachi shook his head and a small nostalgic smile crossed his lips. "You're as insensitive as ever. I appreciate it."

"You know damn well I'm not capable of sympathy, let alone pity, Itachi." Hana sighed and gained a serious composure for a moment. "But seriously, that sucks. And it's disgusting that it happened. I just have poor social skills." Hana appreciated the fact there was a sound of amusement from Itachi. She leaned against his headboard and closed her eyes, appreciating the brief non-hostile silence. Itachi hadn't betrayed her. _Well he had_ , the ration side of her remind, _but not because he wanted to_.

"I tried to protect you when they set their sights on you," Itachi sighed. "But you and Kakashi killed Kakuzu. You always excelled in everything despite not wanting to."

Hana glanced over at him and appreciated the dry smile on his lips. "Sue me for having a will to live. He was a bastard, that one. Nearly killed both of us." She crossed her arms and blew a piece of hair out of her face. "That was nearly six months ago, they were scouting me before then?"

"Rumors of your insolence and questionable loyalty traveled far. It did not help that you had to go and earn yourself a _nickname,_ Blood ghost-"

"You know I hate nicknames. And here's the thing, it's not my fault I was sent on assassination after assassination once Kakashi became a genin team leader." Hana scowled. Infiltration and assassinations were either dreadfully boring or mentally taxing, not the best combination to keep her mind stable. She crossed her arms and continued to avoid eye contact with her old teammate. "Do you want me to join the Akatsuki?"

"No," Itachi responded far too quickly then paused for a brief moment before continuing. "But I wish for you to live, so it is inevitable."

The exasperation in his voice wouldn't be evident to most, but Hana could feel it in her bones. Itachi was tired. He had shouldered a burden and was constantly putting on a show for seemingly everyone involved. Consistently deception was exhausting, she knew it too well. She swung her legs around the edge of the bed and stood up, walking toward the door. "I figured as much." She paused as she opened and exited the room, tossing her head over her shoulder she smiled. "Join me for breakfast?"

* * *

And thats all. I'm still not sure if it'll be a one-shot or if I'll expand on it. Let me know what you think. :)

Reviews are greatly appreciated!


	2. Happy Birthday!

A/N: So I have decided this will be a series of related one-shots which will vary in tone and genre. This one is quite fluffy and made my happy. It's also considerably shorter than the last one. I had fun writing this chapter, enjoy!

* * *

Hana rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck, hanging her cloak and hat on her hook. A quick glance around her room made it clear someone had been in it since she was gone. Her closet door was slightly ajar and her pens were placed in the cup which seemed to be designated for that express purpose. However, she always left her closet door either completely shut or completely open and her pens never sat in the cup. It was her tea cup after all. Rolling her eyes, she stormed out of the room and into the living area.

"I have said easily fourteen times to stay out of my room when I'm gone," Hana snarled. Three pairs of eyes blinked back at her as if she had five heads. Rubbing the bridge of her noise, she groaned. "My pens are in my tea cup for god sakes, you all should have better infiltration skills than that."

Without waiting for a response, Hana strut back out and into her room. She unraveled her braid and grabbed her belongings to shower. Blood, sweat, and dirt had been her perfume for far too many days. There hadn't been an inn or town the entire four day trip home, it was a travesty.

The shower was marvelous. It was warm and cleansing and provided the perfect catalyst for Hana to relieve her tense body. She massaged her scalp and she peaked out of the shower head as she heard scurrying around the hallway curiously close to the door. _Stupid boys_ , she growled mentally.

Hana was not unfamiliar with the male population by any means. There were few female ANBU and the locker room was not segregated. However, these boys were just so damn _weird_. Tobi, Kisame and Deidra were three of the world's most dangerous shinobi and yet she had to show Kisame how to fold his socks last month.

As Hana made her way back to her room she eyed the hallway carefully. The boys were certainly not beyond pranks, especially when she was half naked. Opening her closet, she noticed something quite awry. There was an additional hanger there. She touched the kimono blouse. It was silk and a deep navy blue, just her style. Pinned to the hanger was note.

 _Happy Birthday,  
_ _I don't think it's too girly.  
_ _-Big Blue_

Hana's heart was suddenly warm as she folded the note. She had honestly forgotten what day it was and she certainly hadn't expected anyone else to know or remember. She put on the kimono blouse with a pair of black slacks and enjoyed the tingle of the new fabric against her skin. She went to take the pens out of her cup and noticed two small boxes sitting next to it. The first box was quite small rectangular.

 _Happy Birthday!  
_ _Deidra put it in your room, now me. Tobi is a good boy!  
_ _-Tobi_

Hana had to keep herself from snorting as she opened it. A novel, a mystery about a murder nonetheless, her favorite kind of book. She smiled and placed it back down on her desk and peeked back at the note and snickered. Tobi had been quite the welcome (unwelcome if you asked Deidra) addition to their team.

The last box was thin and covered in an exquisite gold wrapping. Hana ran her figners over it and picked off the note.

 _Happy Birthday, Plum!  
_ _I thought you needed a better one, in the name of art.  
_ _-Honey_

Hana shook her head, _Art_ , of course it had to do with art. Inside Hana was pleasantly surprised to find a pen equally as ornate as the box. It was heavy and black with a dark purple and gold design carved into it. Perfect for her journaling.

After organizing the gifts into their proper places, Hana went to leave her room. As she went to push the door open, it made it no further than an inch before slamming back on her. "No go. You can't come out yet," a deep voice teased.

"What the fuck do you mean," she snapped back, trying to open it again.

"I mean what I said, you have to stay in there a bit longer." Hana kicked the door in response. Once her settled down, though she swore she heard swearing and arguing in the kitchen.

"…fire…bites…sauce…SHUT UP…" Hana furrowed her brow but sighed and leaned against the door frame, waiting for the big lump on the other side to let her out. What easily seemed like hours later, she finally heard the door creak and she walked out, eyeing the tall blue man.

"Blue, if you ever lock me in my room again, I'll-"

He nudged her forward, shaking his head. "False threats, berry."

She spun to face him and dug a finger into his chest. "I don't like nicknames. And berries aren't even purple." She was nudged again as he shook his head at her. The kitchen was unusually dim, as was the living room just off of it. Confused, she flipped on the light and she was pretty sure her heart grew three sizes that day.

Dinner. There was whole dinner on the table of her favorite foods and they were all sitting around the table looking at her. Tears started to well up in her but she pushed them away. "….Shut up," was all she could mutter as she glanced between the four men in front of her. Itachi's head was in his palm as her smirked, back. Deidra was beaming and she could tell the arrangement of everything had been his doing. While Tobi's face could not be seen, he eye was upturned and he was nearly bouncing in his seat.

Her eyes finally fell on Kisame who was shaking her head at her and grinning. "We haven't said anything, yet."

"Happy Birthday, Plum!" Diedra cheered as she made her way to her seat.

"If you guys sing happy birthday, I think I'll vomit." Tobi looked mildly objective to this statement, but Itachi actually seemed to scoff at the idea. "But, thank you."

* * *

The table was cleared and dessert had been had. Hana smiled softly and held her cup of cranberry-apple tea close, with her knees curled even closer. The fire in the living room was always pleasant after a meal. All of the boys had ran off to their rooms to clean themselves up since creating dinner had left them plenty disheveled. The soft padding of foot steps approached from behind her, but Hana only moved her had a little. Itachi came into view. "Going to enjoy a good book?" He shrugged and placed a small box on the arm of her chair before finding his own seat. He opened up his book, nonchalant as ever, and began to scan it.

Hana furrowed her brow as she touched the box. Velvet. How appropriate from the man whose entire existence was the epitome of velvet. She opened the box and saw a note on top of the tissue paper. She eyed it more a moment, glancing at Itachi. He was right there, why did he have to write a note?

 _Happy Birthday, Hana._  
 _I hope you enjoy this._  
 _Warmly,_  
 _Itachi_

Hana almost snorted at the 'warmly', and she felt his eyes shift to her at the struggled noise. She quickly tried to lose all emotion from her face so he wouldn't think she was laughing at him. She unfolded the tissue paper and she gasped, touching the necklace. It was gold and the pendant was an ornate mix of gemstones and gold resembling a spiral. "Itachi..." His brows raised at her, and he smiled at her. She couldn't even be mad at his irritating habit this time. "Thank you. It's stunning."

He shrugged, but it was clear he was more than pleased with himself but the smile lingering on his lips. "Payback for this one." His fingers gestured to the gift she had given his all those years ago. Hana's placed it around her neck and smiled, enjoying the weight of it around her neck.

* * *

Hana wasn't completely sure how any of it happened. Kisame was the first one to suggest the bar, and Deidra had readily agreed. Itachi quickly sighed and refused. Tobi had inquired what a bar was, so had been decided he should stay home.

Hana distinctly remembered arriving at the bar and downing three shots in rapid succession. It was her birthday after all. Kisame had begun hitting on woman and Deidra was holding her hand and attempting to dance with her. Hana had complied, she had actually always enjoyed dancing. The bar had been pretty uneventful except for the excessive amount of drinks Hana had drank, not even taking in account her size.

Despite all the alcohol, Hana actually hesitated to knock on Itachi's door. Drunk Hana won the debate and was soon rapping on the door. The door swung open and maybe, Hana realized, she had been rapping to aggressively. Itachi's hand was on his hip, he was frowning and his eyes brows were raised.

Hana opened her mouth and closed it several times, suddenly not remembering exactly why she was in front of his bedroom. Itachi sighed. "Goodnight, Hana." He shut the door, and pouting she padded back to her room.

Opening her own door, she remembered exactly why she had gone to Itachi's room. Tobi had made himself at home on her bed and she really didn't have the heart to kick him out. Hana sighed rang her fingers through her hair and paced back to Itachi's room. The door swung open a little faster this time and his look was genuinely exasperated. "…I need somewhere to sleep," Hana pouted.

Itachi rubbed his nose, he really did not enjoy drunken antics. "You have your own bed."

Hana clenched her fist and narrowed her eyes at him. "I know," she slurred. "But, Tobi is in my bed, so I can't be in my bed, so now I'm here."

Her fantastic animated explanation, with full farm swinging and finger walking was so out of character Itachi was pretty sure someone had possessed the woman in front of him. "So, you came to my bed?" Hana attempted to shove her way in the room, but a side step from Itachi easily prevented it, resulting in a defiant huff from her.

"Obviously, I just need to sleep, ugh."

Itachi blinked, and casually began to wonder if he was in a dream. "Where do you propose I sleep them?"

"In your bed."

"But you'll be in my bed," he explained.

"Yeah, so? We shared a bed plenty on missions," another attempt at a dash into his room was made. "Ugh, Itachi! Just let me in, I wanna sleep."

"The living room couch is plenty comfortable," Itachi sighed, not keen on sharing his bed with anyone, let alone his drunk partner.

Hana's face immediately contorted in a look of pure horror and betrayed. Itachi was positive this look was worse than the one she made when she was been a prisoner and saw him for the first time. "You," her finger plunged into his chest. "Would let a drunk lady sleep on the couch? In the open? Unprotected? Your mother raised you with better manners!"

She was _not_ using the mother card on him. He closed his eyes for a moment to gain his composure and stepped to the side to allow her in. His mother had raised him better, but clearly hers had missed the topic of not binge drinking.

Hana immediately started taking off her clothes and Itachi turned away faced the wall. "What _are_ you doing?"

"Well I can't sleep in this," she spat back, and he saw her dress fly across the room.

"What do you plan to sleep in?" This was really far too much. He was about to go sleep on the couch. He heard a grunt of indifference and he opened his dresser, taking out an old shirt and shorts, and tossed them over his shoulder. "Put this on."

"Oh, Itachi…scared of a naked woman?"

"If I want to sleep a naked woman, I'm sure I would have no issue. I prefer to sleep alone, Hana."

"Pffft," she sputtered back and he could practically hear her waving him off and he crossed his arms. Seconds later, he realized he may very be close to pouting. His brow furrowed, he certainly hoped drunken antics are not contagious.

Hearing his bed creaked he turned around and she sprawled across his bed, her breathing already heavy. How did such a small woman take up so much space? He shook his head and pondered for a moment whether or not to climb into bed with her. He had been in a light sleep before she had woken him up. Not that one could tell anymore, with her on top of his blankets. He wished to go back to that sleep considering he had a day to himself tomorrow and waking up early to run errands and train had been his plan. His frown only deepened when she snored aggressively and her body jerked a little. Of course, she snored after drinking, it would make his life easier if she was a quiet sleeper. Frowning, he climbed into the bed. He was not going to sleep on the couch, that would mean he would have lost and Uchiha Itachi did not prefer to lose at anything.

He leaned over her body taking her wrist that was hanging over the edge and turning her body so that it was turned toward the wall. His frown only deepened as he remembered how drafty his room was and that did not enjoy sleeping in the cold. His fingers gently tugged the blanket downward and out from under her. With a gurgling snore she flopped back toward him undoing the turn he had previously accomplished. A long sigh escaped him as he continued pulling in the blanket down. Phew. He took her shoulders and guided her body to it's side, away from him as he slipped into the bed. Itachi smirked as he slipped under the covers, untouched and it was almost as if she wasn't there at all.

It was as if she could sense him just about to fall asleep as she snored and turned. Her face was nuzzled within his shoulder blades and her feet, which were _freezing_ , were actively digging into the back of knees. Grimacing, he only squeezed his eyes tighter. He was an S-Rank shinobi, he was trained to resist torture of heaven's sakes, he was not about to allow this tiny drunk woman to disrupt his very existence. This reminder allowed him to find his center and he began to drift back into a doze, despite the consistent wiggling of her toes.

That was until she began drooling. He resisted the urge to gag. Itachi was a clean person, and he preferred to stay as such. Drool did not add to cleanliness. If anything, drool was the epitome of vile existence. He opened his eyes and switched to laying on his back, he head now finding it's way into his arm. Her fingers also latched onto his elbow. He examined his ceiling and began to count the specks. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

A/N: And that was Hana's birthday! I hope you enjoyed it! :) Updates this will be quite sporadic so, yeah.

Reviews are greatly appreciated! :)


	3. Grass

Hana and Itachi walked through the edge of Fire Country in full Akatsuki garb. It was further east, so the trees were less abundant, giving way to beautiful golden plains. With the lack of forests came wind and the soft jingle of their hats as they paced through the grass.

"Don't you ever think these bells are a little counter intuitive?"

Hana brought a finger up to the bell, twirling it through her fingers and glaring at it. Itachi elected not to response, but Hana could have sworn she heard a small sigh.

"I mean for assassins and criminals, we should be a little more discreet, you know?"

This time, Hana could feel Itachi's exasperated sigh.

"Think of it like a rattle-snake. It's a warning that we're coming."

Hana flicked the bell, and pursed her lips at the ring.

"Yeah, we sound really threatening. The clouds too. Man, I'm scared of us."

Itachi glanced at her, raising his brows.

"Would you die if you stopped complaining?"

Hana crossed her arms, rolling her eyes.

"Maybe I would. Actually, I _wish_ I would."

"I can name an entire village that could arrange your death," Itachi said, with a flat expression. But, Hana caught the small twitching around the corner of his lips.

"That makes two of us." Hana hip bumped Itachi, a small laugh escaping him. She pointed at him – attempting to make a scene.

"The great Uchiha Itachi, emotionless man of the Akatsuki laughs at a small joke. Let this go down in history – "

Hana was suddenly spitting grass out of her mouth and Itachi was staring at her with a smug grin.

"Did you – did you just throw _grass_ at me?"

Itachi shrugged, the smug look only growing.

"You can shoot fire from your eyeballs and you assaulted me with _grass_. Are you kidding me?"

"Well I'm not exactly trying to kill- "

Itachi was suddenly on the ground. And he should have seen this coming, really. Hana wrestled to keep his arms pinned as she tried to shove grass into his mouth, but really only succeeded in getting dirt in his nose.

Itachi grabbed her wrist and attempted to get her off of him, but she bit down on his wrist. Not hard, but it was enough to cause Itachi to go limp, cringing at the sudden invasion of bacteria.

"Did you just _bite_ me?"

Hana recoiled, apparently realizing she was being a smidge unreasonable. Itachi took the moment to roll her so he was on top, pining her to the ground. The trouble with Hana was pining her. Once she was pinned, her small frame wasn't a problem, but getting her there… Who knew a girl could wiggle so damn much?

"Fuck you! You just said that so I'd stop!"

"You bit me."

Hana turned her head, puffing her cheeks.

"I didn't even break skin. I basically just licked –"

"Stop. Just…stop. You're making it worse."

Hana sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry for licking and biting you. And attacking you. Even though you absolutely deserved it for throwing grass at me in the first place."

Itachi rolled his eyes, easing off of her into a crouch.

"You always were wretched at apologizing."

Hana's face twisted as she moved up into a crouch. She was absolutely not that bad at apologizing. She was just honest and that seemed to –

"Itachi, down." Hana pushed Itachi's crouch lower, so they were below the grass line.

Itachi knew that voice and narrowed his eyes, scanning the area. Hana knew he knew the same thing she did when his eyes widened a bit.

 _Kakashi_ , she mouthed to him. Itachi nodded, frowning.

Hana had expected to face Kakashi at one point, but she had expected it happen here. Not now. Not so soon. How was she supposed to –

Itachi squeezed her knee and cycled through some hand symbols.

Escape. Westbound. Five seconds.

Hana took a small breath. That would work, if Kakashi hadn't figured out they were there already. But hell, anything was better than fighting him. Especially not after she left. He didn't deserve that, he had already –

Hana moved as fast she could in a crouch. There was a tree line about five hundred feet west. If they could just reach there it would be easier to hide and escape. The first two hundred feet went well. Itachi was a bit ahead of her, but that was fine. He was always a better lead anyway. It was fine until she felt the grass shift behind her.

A lesser shinobi wouldn't have felt the shift in grass, but Hana knew this area. She knew exactly how to slink about this area and exactly what to look for. She turned and pushed herself back several feet, going on the defensive.

"Hana," Kakashi breathed out. His eye had widened and Hana swallowed, nodding. She didn't trust herself to speak.

Hana twirled her kunai allowing it to cut her palm just enough to draw blood. Usually, she didn't even notice the small pain of the cut. But today, using it against Kakashi, the wound felt much deeper.

Hana gave a slow nod, almost like signaling a spar – and they both bounded toward the other. Their kunai clanged. Kakashi knew better than to let her hit. One hit with her kunai, and you were as good as dead. Her kunai finally connected, but with a log.

She pushed back, glancing around. He wasn't eye level, there was nowhere to go up, and glared down at the ground, jumping. A hand grabbed her ankle. But she knew this trick. She spun down slicing the top of his hand before his second could get out in time to block.

That move was sloppy, and overplayed. He should know better.

He hissed as he resurfaced and Hana kicked his hand away with her other foot, jumping back and making a hand sign. The hand was not the preferable place for her to make contact. It took much longer for it to circulate, but it would do for now.

Kakashi glared as his hand couldn't and wouldn't move. In seconds as he went to grab something out of his bag, it wasn't fast enough. With his heart racing, his blood was moving faster. And that meant her chakra was moving faster. Thank god for adrenaline.

"Enough, Kakashi," Hana panted.

He frowned.

"Are you going to kill me?"

Hana pursed her lips.

"Maybe."

"You'd have to do it. I'm immune to your poison."

Hana narrowed her eyes. She knew that. She knew he had been made immune to the toxins in her blood. Anyone who worked on a team with her did. He knew she would have to do it herself. But for right now, she opted to hold him in place.

"Maybe I will."

Kakashi stared at her, his eyes softening for a moment.

"Why did you leave?"

Hana sighed, closing her eyes.

"I can't, Kakashi. I can't do this."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed and Hana wished she could just put an end to this staring. She felt the judgement and confused and shame radiating through her body. She knew it because she felt the same way when she'd seen Itachi. She knew, but she couldn't explain. There wasn't time, this wasn't the place, and Kakashi – he didn't deserve to get dragged in too.

"Then kill me."

Hana opened her mouth, and then closed it. She couldn't say no, that's not what a cold-blooded killer did. She couldn't say yes, though. Not to him, not to Kakashi.

"That's about enough of this."

Itachi had flickered between them, his sharingan spinning.

"You're partners with – "

Kakashi didn't have a chance to finish, as he collapsed to the ground.

Hana crumpled to her knees, and dropped her kunai, her breathing ragged.

"He's not – you didn't."

"He's unconscious. Just a normal genjutsu."

Itachi knelt down near her, taking her arm over his shoulder and bounding to the tree line. As they came to a stop, he laid her against a tree. She gnawed her lip, looking away.

Itachi took her bleeding hand, bandaging it. Hana attempted to tug her hand away.

"It's fine. I can –"

Itachi's grip didn't relent.

"Allow me."

Hana looked up, the light that was breaking through the trees burning her eyes. She squeezed them shut as they burned.

"It's alright to be upset."

"I'm not upset!" Hana snapped, nearly snarling at Itachi.

Itachi nodded, pursing his lips.

"Sounds like it." He placed her bandaged hand in her lap, and took a seat next to her.

"How do you do it?"

Itachi sighed, now directing his eyes toward the sky.

"A lot of practice."

"I don't want to _practice_ ," Hana hissed, her voice beginning to break.

"And I don't want to do this!" She gestured angrily at the tears forming at the edges of her eyes, desperately pushing them away with her knuckles.

Itachi grabbed her shoulders, pulling her into his chest, resting his chin on her head.

"It's fine to do so. Here at least."

Hana heavily breathing dissolved into sniffles, and eventually soft sighs.

"I miss home."

Itachi nodded, rubbed her back.

"Me too, Hana. Me too."


End file.
